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However, it is not simply with regard to land use decisions where the most vociferous group of Redlands residents have differences with the city’s leadership. Duggan has done the city council’s bidding relating to attempting to break the sentiment of the most politically active element of the Redlands population which is so powerfully committed to holding off on aggressive growth. In March 2020, the city’s residents soundly rejected Measure G, with 9,321 votes or 64.88 percent opposing it and 5,052 or 35.12 percent in favor of it.ĭevelopers and city officials appear undaunted by the intense resident resistance to intensive, high-density development. The promotion of Measure G was one of the first major efforts undertaken by Duggan in his role as Redlands city manager. Through Measure G, the council three years ago sought to allow developers to construct up to 27 housing units per acre, eliminate height limits on buildings in the city, relieve developers of the requirement that in completing their projects they have to provide infrastructure to maintain traffic-bearing capacity on the city’s streets equal to what was available prior to the development taking place, permit residential land use designations to be placed into the city’s general plan that did not previously exist and abolish the requirement that developers carry out socioeconomic‐cost/benefit studies for the projects they are proposing, among other things. Over the decades, a multi-generational contingent of Redlands citizens demonstrated themselves to be more committed than any other portion of the San Bernardino County population to the concept of attenuating the tenor of development within their locality, as was demonstrated by the city’s voters’ passage of the controlled-growth or slow-growth Proposition R in 1978, Measure N in 1987 and Measure U in 1997.Ī milestone in that cultural war was the pro-development city council’s effort in 2020 to, in one fell swoop, undo generations of bulwarks against overdevelopment that have been built into the city’s mode of governance. This has rankled a significant cross-section of Redlands’ most vocal residents. Investors and project proponents have sought and obtained clearance to convert properties at the city’s core that for the most part previously existed as commercial uses into multi-story apartment complexes.
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Redlands City Hall for the last decade or more has been supportive of relatively aggressive residential development in various locations around the city, the most notable example being the city’s downtown. Despite a growingly-pronounced cultural divide on the city council between its three male members – consisting of Mayor Eddie Tejada, Councilman Paul Barich and Councilman Mario Saucedo – and its distaff members – Denise Davis and Jenna Guzman-Lowery – with regard to a number of social issues, the council comes across as united with regard to the matters over which local government in California normally holds authority, that being land use decision-making, municipal finance and the day-to-day operation of the city. Nevertheless, among residents of the 36.4-square mile city of 73,168 population who are animated with regard to issues of governance, Duggan is far less popular than he is with the five-member city council. Given the degree of apathy with regard to the function of local government that is typically the case throughout Southern California, the vast majority of residents in Redlands do not seem to have an opinion one way or the other with regard to Duggan’s performance since he became city manager in Redlands in January 2020. Because of what is likely a typographical error that substituted “2023” for “2025” on the staff report for the agenda item, that point remains unclear at press time. It also appears that the city may intend to provide Duggan with a two percent raise from $305,592 to $311,703.84 in July 2025. In addition, the council, which is going to meet on July 5 next week rather than Tuesday because its normal meeting day of the first Tuesday of the month is preempted by the July 4 holiday, will further sign off on giving Duggan a two percent raise in July 2024, upping the $299,600 he will be receiving at that time to $305,592.
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If the council, as anticipated, grants Duggan the raise, he will see his total annual compensation jump from its current $400,650.74, consisting of $280,000 in salary plus perquisites and add-ons of $12,131.92 in addition to $108,518.82 in benefits, to $420,250.74. At its specially rescheduled meeting on Wednesday of next week, the Redlands City Council is set to raise City Manager Charles Duggan’s salary by seven percent from $280,000 to $299,600.
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